Company description

Sprout City Farms is an urban agriculture nonprofit based in Denver, CO. We collaborate with communities to pursue food justice by cultivating innovative, restorative, educational farms. We envision a thriving and equitable food system supported by a network of farms and partners that nourish, and are nourished by, our surrounding communities.

Since 2010, we have built four community farms across the Denver Metro area. We currently operate three that grow an average of more than 30,000 pounds of produce and reach over 6,000 Coloradans each year. The farms provide Healthy Food Access (over 55% of our total harvest is distributed to families experiencing food insecurity), Community Education and Farmer Training, and Youth Education Programs.

Our current farms are:

• Denver Green School Community Farm (DGS), a 1-acre organic vegetable farm established in 2011 in partnership with Denver Public Schools;
• Mountair Park Community Farm (MAP), a 1.5-acre organic vegetable farm established in 2014 in partnership with the City of Lakewood;
• and the Farm at Jack's Solar Garden (JSG), a 5-acre agrivoltaics site that broke ground in spring 2021 in Longmont, where we are growing produce under solar panels and working with researchers to study the results.

Job description

Our 3-acre farm under solar panels at Jack’s Solar Garden (JSG) is a unique site with an emphasis on agrivoltaic research and education. The Field Manager will focus on leading the farm crew to manage the CSA/Market Farm in collaboration with the Markets & Outreach Manager and the Research Farm Manager (collectively, “the Managers”).

Duties and Responsibilities

Field Work/Farm Operations (70%):

• Coordinate the planning, planting, cultivating, and harvesting of crops. Manage physical operations of the farm including crop plan, field plan, food safety plan, building/maintenance of structures, and general farm maintenance, in collaboration with other Managers.
• Bed–prep, greenhouse seeding, field planting, cultivating; serve as a pace-setter and crew leader for these activities, sharing/delegating team leadership with other Managers as appropriate.
• Collaborate with other Managers to develop and implement best practices for this unique farm project. Create and implement daily, weekly, monthly and seasonal work plans.
• Coordinate food distribution and communications including weekly harvest plans based on availability. Manage CSA and wholesale orders, and coordinate Farmers Markets and produce donations with Managers.
• Meet with other Managers weekly to integrate research and market needs into the work plan, including harvest and distribution.
• Lead harvest days, delegating harvest & processing tasks to the farm team as appropriate.
• Assist with daily and seasonal farm upkeep, including:
  irrigation system upgrades & maintenance.
  weeding, grass cutting, mulching, composting, pathway maintenance.
  cleaning and organizing washstation and food storage areas.
• Basic tool, equipment & facility maintenance, including proper use and care of BCS (walk-behind tractor)
• Manage farm operations-related purchases within the farm budget.

Community Engagement & Education (15%):
SCF is committed to farmer education and as such we approach our field work with a teaching mindset. The Managers will be expected to take the time to teach skills to and follow-up/oversee progress of less experienced crew members, interns and volunteers.
Jack’s Solar Garden is an educational site that hosts many curious folks every week. It is a crucial part of this role to enthusiastically engage with guests and help them understand what they are seeing and why it is interesting.

Coordinate weekly CSA pickup:

• collaborate with Markets & Outreach Manager to write weekly CSA email with pictures, anecdotes, recipes ideas and info about items in each share
• manage schedule to staff Thursday CSA pickup.
• engage positively with CSA members in person at pickup.

Lead farm-based volunteer groups, crew-swaps with other farms and all-crew days. Some Saturday Market shifts and Saturday volunteer days will be required. Participate in all-crew days at the Mountair Park Community Farm and Denver Green School Community Farm, approximately 1 day per month throughout the season.

Assist in general outreach to the Longmont community as we build new relationships and connections. Attend occasional community outreach events to educate the public about Sprout City Farms and our research collaborations at Jack’s Solar Garden.(e.g. Colorado Proud Day).

Collaborate with on-site partners as needed, including Jack’s Solar Garden, CALC, University of Arizona, CSU, NREL, and other organizations working in the space.

General & Administrative (15%):

• Provide accurate recordkeeping and reporting on farm outcomes, including weekly updates to the farm team and Executive Director.
• Maintain harvest records, distribution data, personal time log, calendars and field notes.
• Participate in weekly meetings with JSG farm team, SCF Staff meetings, and board meetings as needed.
• Adhere to SCF Employee Handbook and follow SCF food safety plan.
• Help with SCF’s social media, including taking pictures of the Farm at Jack’s Solar Garden and its activities throughout the season.

Desired Experience and Skills:

• Agricultural field experience on a sustainable, organic, and/or no-till diversified vegetable farm. 2+ seasons of experience and 1+ season of leadership experience on a farm.
• Desire to take initiative and follow-through on tasks. Pragmatic and outcome-driven.
• Strong organizational skills.
• Solid written and verbal communication skills.
• Bilingual English/Spanish speaking and/or writing skills are an asset. Please share with us if you have these skills and if you are interested in connecting with the Spanish speaking community in and around Longmont.
• Enthusiasm to work on an experimental research farm. Ability to communicate positively and effectively to implement plans, assess results, make changes, learn from success and failure – and have fun doing it!
• Positive communication style and curiosity mindset.
• Team/crew leadership experience and/or willingness to lead small teams.
• Ability and willingness to speak in front of/lead volunteer and/or tour groups.
• Physical stamina and flexibility. Ability and willingness to squat, bend and lift repeatedly throughout the work day.
• Ability and willingness to drive a pickup truck to deliver produce weekly.
• Access to daily transportation and phone with text capability. Access to a computer and wifi to check & send work emails weekly (stipend provided for use of personal resources).

Time Commitment/Compensation
40hrs/week March-October; 30 hrs/week November; 5 hrs/week December

Wage rate: $27.16/hour. Benefits include: health care and home office stipend ($275/month), holidays/paid time off, CSA share.

Compensation

this position is: hourly, $20/hr +

Application instructions

Deadline

no deadline